System Audit Logs Must Be Owned By Root

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Description

All audit logs must be owned by root user. The path for audit log can be configured via log_file parameter in

/etc/audit/auditd.conf

or by default, the path for audit log is

/var/log/audit/

. To properly set the owner of /var/log/audit/*, run the command:

$ sudo chown root /var/log/audit/*

Rationale

Unauthorized disclosure of audit records can reveal system and configuration data to attackers, thus compromising its confidentiality.

Remediation

Shell script

The following script can be run on the host to remediate the issue.

#!/bin/bash

# Remediation is applicable only in certain platforms
if dpkg-query --show --showformat='${db:Status-Status}
' 'kernel' 2>/dev/null | grep -q installed && dpkg-query --show --showformat='${db:Status-Status}\n' 'auditd' 2>/dev/null | grep -q installed; then

if LC_ALL=C grep -iw log_file /etc/audit/auditd.conf; then
    FILE=$(awk -F "=" '/^log_file/ {print $2}' /etc/audit/auditd.conf | tr -d ' ')
    chown root $FILE*
else
    chown root /var/log/audit/audit.log*
fi

else
    >&2 echo 'Remediation is not applicable, nothing was done'
fi